And then he’s hopping down from the stage, tolerating back pats and hair-ruffling as he pushes his way through the crowd towards me. He’s hot and sweaty, his hair falling down around his face and his eyes startlingly dark as he closes the distance between us. My entire body feels electric as his hands land on my waist, his thumbs pressing into the bare skin beneath the lacy white top I wore to the festival earlier. I don’t care that we’re in a crowded room – when his mouth catches mine, everything around us fades into the background. He deepens the kiss and I feel hot and shivery all at once.
I’m aware of people laughing, but only distantly, and then they’re catcalling and clapping and Finn is smiling against my mouth as he breaks away.
I stare up at him, breathless.
This boy cankiss.
He turns to Amy. ‘I’m taking her. Tell Chas,’ and then his hand is in mine and he’s pulling me towards the door.
‘Wait! Your bag!’ Amy cries after us.
I’m hardly able to think straight as she runs behind the bar and brings it to me.
‘Go have fun.’
Finn and I don’t speak on our way up to my house,holding hands and walking fast, eager. I unlock the door, fumbling with my keys, and then we’re inside the dark house, kicking off our shoes, and I’m leading the way straight up the stairs to my bedroom.
He pushes my door shut behind me and I fall against the wall as his mouth crashes onto mine, his hands cutting a path down my thighs and tugging me against him. I gasp at his hardness and he breaks our kiss, pulling back a few inches to stare at me in the moonlit room, leaving the lower half of his body pressed against mine. We hold eye contact for several long seconds, and I almost forget to breathe. Then he gently tucks a stray lock of hair behind my ear, his fingertips skating along my jaw and down the side of my neck to my collarbone, leaving me shivering and wanting.
As his gaze moves higher, I read his mind and reach up to remove the bobby pins securing my hair, letting it fall down across my shoulder. He emits a tortured-sounding moan and sinks his mouth back on to mine, kissing me deeply as his fingers push through my hair.
We kiss for a long time before I begin to lose patience. I want more. And Finn seems to sense it, making space between us as my hands go to the buttons on his jeans. He sees to mine, my breath catching at his brief touch against my skin. He retrieves a condom from his back pocket and pulls me to the bed where we shed the last of our clothing.
When he’s ready for me, I reach down and bring him closer, savouring the sound he makes in the back of his throat as we connect in the most intimate of ways. Locking my eyes with his, he pushes into me.
It’s only later, after I’ve gasped his name against his neck,that it occurs to me that we haven’t said a single word to each other in hours.
But then I guess we’ve done enough talking this summer.
‘Why did we waste so much time?’ Finn asks into the darkness.
His fingers are playing with my hair and it’s giving me chills.
‘I’m going to miss you too,’ I whisper, hearing the words he didn’t say.
‘I really like you.’ He turns to face me.
‘I really like you too,’ I reply.
As he presses a kiss to my lips, I can feel his smile.
The sound of the doorbell disturbs our moment. I jerk away from him.
‘Who’s that?’ I ask with alarm as the sound reverberates once more through the quiet house.
Finn sits up, frowning, as I jump out of bed and pull on my dressing gown.
‘Could it be Michael?’ he asks with concern.
‘God knows,’ I reply, hurrying out of the room and down the stairs.
I flick on the outdoor light and my blood freezes over. There are two police officers standing on the doorstep.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I was in shock when they broke the news to me. The police officers asked if I was at home alone, and when I replied that ‘my friend, Finn’ was upstairs, they suggested I call him down.
Finn’s face was deathly pale and wary as he walked into the room. He’d dressed in a hurry and it showed. We sat apart on the sofa, waiting for the words that would bring my whole world crashing down.
